Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

I had just finished reading or in my case listening to this book and I don’t know how to start my review.

The one takeaway I got from this book was how captivated and engrossed I was by the character that is Evelyn Hugo.

And it will be the tragedy of my life that I cannot love you enough to make you mine. That you cannot be loved enough to be anyone’s

Evelyn was just so mesmerizing, you can actually believe her to be a real starlet which I must say her inspiration must be a mesh between Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor because some parts of her life are almost uncanny to the lives to these two actresses.

I do not applaud the decisions that Evelyn took in this book as they are not morally sound but I can admire her tenacity and her balls to the wall attitude in terms of getting what she wants. Evelyn knows she is a bombshell and she isn’t afraid to use it to her advantage and disregards what people think about it which I must say is an attitude I have to respect and as she puts it you are owed nothing in this world.

One has to give Evelyn praise as she used her assets to its full potential as it got her out of Hell’s Kitchen and straight to becoming famous and celebrated Hollywood actress. Her manipulation and being calculative only shows her as being intelligent and using her feminine power in a man’s world.

People don’t find it very sympathetic or endearing, a woman who puts herself first.

It was just so inspirational how this woman who literally had nothing except her rare beauty and intelligence and used it to make a name for herself and is unapologetic that on things that she had to do to get there for if a man can be unapologetic to the road of success why can’t a woman.

Basically, I cannot get enough of Evelyn Hugo the character. Like, literally other characters while well rounded just cannot compare to her, she is the star.

Plot-wise it felt used and predictable but I immensely enjoyed it largely due to the writer’s talent and skill to wove such an interesting and heartfelt story and the plot twist at the end. I definitely did not see it coming although in retrospect all the clues were there.

I also really liked the representation of the LGBTQ+ community in this book because the characters felt like real people; people who are just out living their daily life and who so happens to love and care deeply for someone who is taboo for them to love and care about. Reading it, you can imagine them in real life

In terms of the LGBTQ+ community, I saw the dilemma faced by Evelyn and her friends when there was a protest for LGBTQ+ rights in the book to be interesting because if they had participated like Harry said, it would take away the meaning of the fight as the media would change the focus to whether these Hollywood stars are part of the community and it raises a good question of which fight do you participate in and which do you just support form behind the scenes?

They are just husbands. I am Evelyn Hugo. And anyway, I think once people know the truth, they will be much more interested in my wife.

To be honest guys, I cried reading this book. I felt for Evelyn so much towards the end. I cried reading what she lost due to her own arrogance and ego and mistakes. It was such a rollercoaster of emotions I at the end of it don’t know what I feel anymore.

In conclusion, this book is awesome. Just read it. You won’t regret it.